UP TO 1,400 modernized public utility jeepneys (MPUJs) that have been given franchises by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board in Central Visayas (LTFRB 7) are currently running in Metro Cebu.
According to LTFRB 7 Director Eduardo Montealto Jr., there are 800 MPUJ units operating in Cebu City alone.
He said the number will go up next year because People's Jeep is expecting a delivery of 200 additional units with 60 of them expected to start operating in January.
People's Jeep is owned by the Cebu People's Multi-Purpose Cooperative, which started with a start-up capital of P2,200 in 1972. After five decades, its assets have ballooned to P2.3 billion.
Montealto said there are 69 cooperatives that operate MPUJs in Cebu after they consolidated their old franchises so they could acquire new units as part of the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program, which was launched by the Department of Transportation during the administration of former President Rodrigo Duterte.
The program "calls for the phasing out of jeepneys, buses and other PUVs that are at least 15 years old and replacing them with safe, more comfortable and more environmentally friendly alternatives" by 2020.
Montealto said 3,000 traditional jeepney continue to operate in Central Visayas with 850 running in Metro Cebu. However, their provisional authority is only valid until March 2023, he said. (PJB)
